bakerstreetfandomcom-20200222-history
Jonathan Small
Jonathan Small is the main antagonist of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel The Sign of the Four‎‎. He is a peg-legged man who has an accomplice in his loyal friend Tonga. History Small came from a poor family in England. He joined the army, and served in India. During that time, he was swimming in a river when a crocodile bit his leg off, leaving him crippled. He was saved by another soldier, who was the best swimmer in the regiment. Later Small worked on a plantation as an overseer, and during the Indian mutiny of 1857 his friends were killed and he was forced to flee to Agra to save himself. At Agra, Small was charged as a guard. Two Sikhs approached him, telling him that they would kill him, if he did not help them to kill a merchant of Raja, who was carrying a treasure full of Jewels. Small, the two men and a third Hindu man, who was an accompanying servant, killed the merchant, hid the treasure, and drew map with those four signing as the Sign of Four, and pledging an alliance. Their plan was ruined when the body of the victium was discovered although the treasure was not found. The three Hindus were sentenced to serve life in jail, while Small first was sentence to death, but it was the changed to life time in the Andaman Islands at hard labor. In the prison, Small approached two officers of guard, Arthur Morstan and John Sholto. He told them about the treasure, and also told them that if they help him and his friends, they can have equal share. Morstan sent Sholto to check, but Sholto tricked Small and Morstan, and took the treasure back to England. Small was enraged. At one point of his sentence, he saved an Aborigine pigmy from death, who then became loyal to him. Small called him Tonga. In 1882 Small then with Tonga managed to escape the prison, by knocking a guard with his wooden leg, and killing him, saying later that that was his only crime. After their escape from prison island in a boat, they travelled the world, earning money by Tonga's performances, including eating raw flesh. When they reached England, Small found out where Sholto was. A glimpse of Small face in a window paniced the dying Sholto into not revealing the treasure-although Small left a note of the "The Sign of the Four" on Sholto's body in revenge. In 1888 Small found out about the recovery of the treasure. He wanted to stage robbery. Tonga who was agile climbed up the Sholto house and tied a rope, and Small climbed up. When they climbed up, Small saw Bartholomew Sholto. Small wanted only to tie him up, but Tonga shoot a poison dart into him, which enraged Small. Small took the treasure and ran away. He prepared a boat for escape, called Aurora, but was traced down by Holmes, Watson and the police. In the chase on the Thames, Holmes and Watson killed Tonga, who tried to kill them with a poison dart. While the Aurora managed to make it to the shore, Small got stuck in the mud. The tresure box was empty-Small had dumped it overboard just prior to his capture At Baker Street, Small told his history, and the police took him away. Small admits but doesnt express regret for any of the crimes he was involved in-except for the death of Bartholomew Sholto. He observes that despite his "claim" to the Agra Treasure that it never brought anything except bad luck to those who tried to posses it {The Servant who had it was killed; Major Sholto lived in years for fear and guilt; Small spending over half of his life building a breakwater in the Adaman Islands and will likly spend the rest of his life building drains in Dartmoor Prison}. Trivia Jonathan Small was an unfortunate man, followed by bad luck, which was manifested in him losing his leg, getting put in prison for a crime he was forced to commit to survive, and his plan of getting the treasure back failed. He was not evil and sadistic by nature, but he was an unfortunate man driven by fate to commit crimes. Further more his act of saving Tonga showed that he was a good man, who knew mercy and compassion, but had very bad luck in life. He ended up in prison once again at the end of novel. Small can be compared with Victor Hugo's Jean Valjean, who also was an unfortunate man, but Valjean was at least lucky enough to die as a free man. de:Jonathan Small pt-br:Jonathan Small Category:British characters Category:Characters: The Sign of the Four Category:Murderers Category:Versions of Jonathan Small Category:Villains